• TrainingRm67
    98
    Following an impressive win over Idaho last Friday, the Aggies start their 1st roadtrip of the season, traveling to Ogden UT to take on Weber State,

    The Wildcats opened on the road, losing to Colorado State, followed by a home-opener victory over D2 Westminster. Weber has three players averaging double figures, led by Antoniette Emma-Nnopu’s 16 ppg. Nicole Willardson contributes 12, and Hannah Robbins checks in at 10.5 ppg. Emma-Nnopu adds 10 boards a gameThe Wildcats are picked to finish 7th or 8th in the Big Sky preseason polls.

    UCD counters with a balanced attack, four starters averaging double digits: Ryann Bennett (21), Nya Epps (14.5), Megan Norris (13.5) and Tegan Young (11). Norris is also averaging 14 rebounds a game. The Aggies may still be bit short-handed unless Helen Matthews, Vic Baker and/or Ally Fitzgerald are ready to go. Freshmen Emmy Ersdala and Sophie Lentfer have been big off the bench so far, with heralded freshman Carrington Davis and redshirt sophomore, Theoni Tsami, looking to contribute more.

    The altitude (4700+ feet at Dee Events Center) may also pose a challenge for Davis, especially if the team is still short-handed.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    Well the women look asleep at the wheel. Down 9-0 two minutes into the game. Poor shooting, 2 TO's and sluggish defense. Weber is 4-4.

    Weber has a really nice looking arena at it is EMPTY. Honestly, there are whole section with 1 or 2 people in them.
  • Jdur
    191
    Looking better in the second half of this first quarter! That arena is freaking huge for weber dang! If you had a big crowd at the game serious home court advantage... this game not so much
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    Beautiful looking arena for sure! Ags finally woke up and got their defense going to take an 2 point lead at the end of the first Q 18-16.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    32-28 Ags at the half. Up by as many as 8 the Ags couldn't stretch the lead largely due to 11 TO's and shooting only 4-15 from 3.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    The Ags hit 7 of 12 from 3 in the 3rd Q to take a 17 point lead into the 4th 59-42.
  • MTBAggie
    192
    Not many BBQ St. fans at this game... Audio is terrible, too.
  • abridge
    141
    They definitely believe in their ability to hit the 3 even if they're cold. And, wow, can they play transition basketball. Has there ever been a team quite like this for us?
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    Nya Epps used her energy to get the Ags going in the second half and the Aggies steadily pulled away for a 75-52 victory over the Wildcats. Epps led the Ags with 20 points, 5 assists 4 rebounds and 2 steals followed by Ryan Bennett with 16 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds and Avery Sussex with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Megan Norris just missed another double double with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    649
    Cut down on the turnovers and this team is a team to watch. Rebounding will be an issue with bigger teams, but I really like the depth.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    I really like the depth.Oldbanduhalum

    And we're still missing Baker, Fitzgerald and Matthews.
  • abridge
    141
    That was a blazingly fast game. Less than 2 hours start to finish? Egad.
  • TrainingRm67
    98
    It looks like the defense clamped down after the first quarter. Boise State will be much tougher. Kind of like the young Aggies going into that contest feeling they played poorly tonight.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    649
    yeah none of them played tonight. Not sure if they were on the bench or not. Fitzgerald will certainly help with interior defense. Though I liked what I saw from Tsamil tonight. She looked rusty of course but there were some glimpses.
  • TrainingRm67
    98
    The turnovers annoy me as well, but it’s what you’re going to get running the Princeton offense.

    Back door cuts are not an easy completion. Beautiful when you connect, but it’s always a bang-bang play through lots of bodies into a tight window. Seldom any margin for error.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.5k
    That's a good point about the tight window for a successful pass on the backdoor cuts but there are also quite a few careless TO's being made that need to be reduced. Those kind of TO's can be the difference in close ball games.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    649
    yeah and when you play up tempo and push the ball, there will inevitably be turnovers. Hopefully the sloppy turnovers will decrease as the players get used to playing with each other.
  • abridge
    141
    I believe Helen Mathews won't be playing - she has an ACL injury - gone for the season. Vic Baker has a fairly bad ankle injury and won't return for some time. Ally Fitzgerald has back and other issues with no imminent return. This according to Jen at a meeting on Monday afternoon.
  • eastbayaggie
    137
    And I presume Sahana Kanagasabay is out for the season, or are we surprised with good news?
  • Oldbanduhalum
    649
    that’s rough news. Fortunately we have some solid looking freshman
  • TrainingRm67
    98

    Eliminating/reducing the sloppy/careless turnovers always needs to be a point of emphasis. 12-15 a game is considered the acceptable range. Any game with more than 18 is a problem.

    Abridge, thanks for the information, though your post is definitely concerning, as well as sad for those ladies. So much upside with this group, but getting through a season with only nine healthy players is dicey. And currently, Jen Gross really only has a 7-player rotation. Hopefully Tsami and Davis will get to where they can take up some of the minutes.

    The short bench should pay some longterm dividends, since the Aggies will return a very experienced core group for Y1 in the Mountain West. But it's imperative we get at least one experienced post player through the portal for next year. IMHO. Right now, incoming freshman Marta Forsline is next year's starting post, with a significant drop in size behind her. Ally Fitzgerald just can't be counted on being available. For her own longterm health, it's questionable if she should continue to try to play. Maybe the same with Sahana.
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